Review of Ms .45

Ms .45 (1981)
7/10
Corny, low budget . . . and very entertaining
2 March 2019
This is one of those uniquely offbeat, low budget B grade productions that is actually very entertaining in its own, well . . . unique way.

Among some, this has become a sort of cult classic, and I can see why.

Is this for everyone? Possibly not, but in its own context of subject matter, story, aesthetic and quasi indie production style, this could easily be seen as one of those rare gems that just seems to have that right mix for an eclectic film experience.

The basic story is our lead character Thana, played by the astonishingly beautiful Zoe Lund, who works in a NYC garment district fashion sweat shop as her day job, and as part of that day job has to walk the daily gauntlet of leering and taunting male lowlifes, with the usual assortment of catcalls, "hey baby" one liners and all that. Her female sweat shop co-workers have thicker skin, flipping off the usual assortment of male taunting scumbags as part of their daily routine, but Thana is a bit more . . . sensitive.

Not to make light of the actual reality of sexual harassment, this is the extreme example of such lowlife BS inflicted upon women.

But final straw for Thana was getting raped, twice in the same day . . . that part of the film is genuinely painful to watch.

At which point, Thana, who manages to get a gun from the 2nd rapist, who she dispatched to the next world during said rape, decides she has a mission in this world, and embarks upon such with steely determination.

Of course, there have been numerous other films with this same basic story concept, Jodie Foster's "the Accused" perhaps being my favorite choice in this genre', but this particular production has it's own unique character which sets it apart from the others.

Yes, there is some gore (well, a lot of gore), but it's not in your face raw meat scenes, more like implied gore as a consequence of what's being portrayed, with a few vignettes worth noting (serving the ground up remains of her 2nd rapist to the nosy neighbor's dog being a memorable example thereof).

The entire aesthetic of this production is very 1980s NYC; grimy, gritty, attire, attitudes and settings of the time.

In any case, I'd say this is definitely worth checking out. The story goes a bit off the rails in the ending grand finale scenes, but even as over the top as such may be, it does seem to fit the overall ambiance in its own way.

Corny, low budget . . . and very entertaining, definitely 7 star material.
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